RE: Myths Of Our Economy: The Middle Class
Wow, that was a really good read @zyx066... you covered a lot of common-sense middle ground that I often try to explain to people, myself.
I remember sitting and having long discussions with my finance professor at UT Austin around 1982 (being fairly "fresh off the boat" from Denmark) and committing the treasonous act of claiming that both Communism and Capitalism would collapse in our lifetime because they were unsustainable. Communism went first (you can't hope to go anywhere I you sacrifice individual value in name of supporting the collective... people get depressed when they feel they have no value!)... and I sincerely believe the type of unchecked capitalism we have now is also teetering on the edge of extinction... you can't hope to build a cohesive society in the absence of a "common good."
Of course the "Freedomists" and hard-core Capitalists actually believe their own talk... and they continue to use dodgy statistics to support it.
But we have a new "wrinkle" developing — which was never part of the original capitalistic model — called technology and automation. Not only have we a shrinking middle class, but we have less and less need for people TO WORK. Next comes the trucking and delivery industry... here in the US, 4-5 million jobs will be replaced by self-driving trucks.
Of course, I could rant on at some length, but I'll refrain.
But I'll re-steem this, which at least will send it across some fresh sets of eyeballs... but be prepared for some to take offense here!
Sorry....
Communism is ideology.
Capitalism isn't an ideology, it's a natural system of economics....
..it's not capitalism. It is Crony capitalism, and is the shoehorn to communism, which it the direction we are headed (since 1913 in the west..)
Capitalism is impossible when a central bank controls the value of money.
Capitalism depends on free markets.
Money valued not through the price discovery mechanism is NOT free market. Ergo, it is not capitalism.
This is indeed a never seen before phenomenon..I'm really not sure what this means for us as a society...
Communism through the back door? - along with eugenics and genocide - another communist family favorite!
The technology issue is probably going to be a bigger fish in the equation than the nuances of capitalism vs. communism. Whether we are talking about "ideologies" OR "systems," technology is acting as a disruptor.
A structure is developing in which "work" will have less and less to do with what you can and cannot do, and being "qualified" for anything... than with the simple fact that nobody NEEDS you to work and produce anything.
Part of that might be "good," but we are going to run head first into the issue that "food costs money" and "houses require rent" but now there's nothing for me to DO in order to be "self sufficent in the sense of earning my own money, rather than "mooching off the state" which we've all determined we hate.
So without some kind of structured solution... we're heading straight towards "angry villagers with pitchforks" protesting "rich landowners." Because in a capitalist system, why should a rich factory owner who produces goods not by providing jobs to HUMANS give up any of the profits they make from robotic production, to make products that no longer require the payment of salaries, health insurance and all that rot?
But wait... now we have ANOTHER problem. Since the worker bees no longer have jobs, so they don't make money, so they can't afford to BUY aforesaid products... DEMAND for those products will plummet. Because, after all, the "rich landowners" only NEED one (or maybe three) toaster ovens, not millions.
I think the kind of "pure" capitalism you're talking about is really a derivation of the economics principle of "Perfect Competition" which is awesome (it was always one of my favorites!) except for its critical flaw: It is contingent on a "perfect information" in the marketplace. no such thing exists... or, actually, it's a misnomer. Humans, with all their foibles, phobias, greed, fear, manipulations and machinations... are more inclined to be self-serving than naturally "efficient."
Do "free markets" actually EXIST? I definitely like the idea of free markets. I used to think eBay was a great thing back when it was dominated by "auction format." You put your stuff out there and the open market decided — through the bidding process — what something was "worth," in that moment.
A lot of people are quick to blame eBay for the decline of that system... but the root cause was actually greedy people who used shills and "blackballing systems" to sabotage competitors that started that snowball... because there is a large segment of Humans who don't care about free markets, they just care about accumulating "the biggest pile." Hence we end up having to toss people like "Pharma Bro" in prison...
But enough rambling... it'll be interesting to see how it all plays out. Something tells me the most prudent strategy these days is to make sure you understand how to live on "almost nothing."
Yeah, 'the robots produce, so the there are no workers with income to purchase,' is a real doozy, ain't it?
Wise words, methinks...
You honor me, sir, with this beautiful response. Thanks you so much for the support and especially for the interest you show in these important matters and the important additions you make: you're absolutely right that it is useless to hang on to an economic model based on everybody needing a job when "working" will be something completely different than we know now due to technological advancements.
Thanks so much, @denmarkguy :-)